Yeshiva
Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- D'varim
- Ekev
This is Moshe’s challenge as he addresses the nation; the entire last book of the Torah comprises his farewell speech. He must choose his words carefully & emphasize the truly important points & principles that the nation can take with them as they march into the future.
I’m intrigued by one particular comment Moshe makes: "He afflicted you, & He made you hungry, & He fed you the Mahn that neither you nor your forefathers knew."
Why, how did Hashem "afflict" us? G-d is a giving, loving G-d; why would he possibly want to afflict us? Indeed, this same section is filled with all the wonderful things G-d did for us in the desert, & ends by promising us a beautiful, verdant Land that will satisfy our every need. So what was this affliction, & what is its connection to the Mahn & to Israel?
I suggest that the Mahn is perfectly emblematic both of Israel & the Jewish condition.
Among the many (or is it Mahn-y?!) miracles contained within the Mahn, its most famous feature was that it could taste like (almost) any food one could imagine! Yet at the same time, the Mahn had a catch: it only lasted for a day (except for Shabbat) & then it rotted & melted away. Thus, one held in his hands something truly unique & precious, but at the same time fragile & fleeting.
This combination was what was so "afflicting." To have something so amazing, yet know it would soon disappear, must have been terribly frustrating. But, of course, this was all by design; there was a powerful method to Hashem’s "mahn-ness." He wants us to acknowledge all the manifold gifts He gives us, & human nature dictates that we don’t know what we have until we lose it. And so, ironically, it was only by watching the Mahn vanish before our very eyes that we came to fully appreciate its value.
And so it is with Israel. Whether we are talking about the first 2 Batei Mikdash, or the fantastic country we live in today, we are always in danger of taking it for granted. It is more miraculous than Mahn, & yet we often lose sight of the blessing that greets us the moment we open our eyes each morning. And that is precisely why our very existence here is so fragile, our future so worrisome, our security so tenuous. It is all meant to conquer our complacency, to amplify our appreciation, & to insure our eternal gratitude to, and dependence upon the Almighty.
Rabbi Stewart Weiss
Was ordained at the Hebrew Theological College in Skokie, Illinois, and led congregations in Chicago and Dallas prior to making Aliyah in 1992. He directs the Jewish Outreach Center in Ra'anana, helping to facilitate the spiritual absorption of new olim.
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Hosha'ana Rabba FLYDUBAI & HOSHANA RABBA- ANI VAHU HOSHIA NA- I & HIM SAVE US
"Ani vaHu Hoshia Na", "I and Him, Save Us". We don't just pray to Him, but we also pray to and for ourselves that we should emulate and educate our children to have that instinctive altruism with which He created the world. President Trump seemed amused about Yaniv Hayon, our PLUMBER who confidently worked with G-d like Superman (he learned from a pilot on a TV show!) to save 174 lives on the Dubai hijacking, but we in Israel are totally accustomed already 78 years to our plumbers, teachers, garbage-men, rabbis, farmers & doctors being Hashem's shlichim! This is what Zionism is about.
Moreshet Shaul Hashem Is your Shadow – part I
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 420 – an address from 1941
